Why Canada Post? Compare the best shipping companies in Canada

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A comparison of Canada Post to other popular shipping companies in Canada to find out why Canada Post is the clear winner and why other companies just can’t keep up.

Why Canada Post is the clear winner for getting your product to the consumer

The last year has thrown us into a sudden dependence on eCommerce businesses. When the pandemic hit and most of Canada was under lockdown, carriers across the country became inundated with several times as many online shopping packages to ship safely to consumers. A year later and most of these companies have adapted to this new world – but some have not.

If your business has recently gone online or you’re struggling with the carrier you have and you’re looking to find out which shipping company in Canada is best for reaching your customers, then you’ve come to the right place. We’ve researched and dug deeper into each carrier company to find out which ones are rising above and beyond the increasing online shopping scene and which you should probably avoid.

What is Canada Post?

Most of us know who Canada Post is. They’re the men and women who deliver our mail, bills, and flyers each day. As a Crown corporation, they are the primary mail couriers in Canada. They’ve been providing mail across Canada since 1859. Canada Post delivered 389 million parcels (up from 320 million) in 2020 alone.

What you may not know about Canada Post is that they have a plethora of offerings for small businesses as well as specific rates and trustworthiness that often times feels unmatched by other carriers. By signing up with Canada Post as a small business, you get access to exclusive offers such as discounts on accounting software and can use flat rates for shipping right across the country; from Vancouver Island all the way to Labrador.

Canada Post is also one of the easiest shipping carriers to integrate into eCommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce. It works well for printing fast shipping labels as well as for sending parcels. Drop-offs can be at any post office location instead of needing to be picked up or dropped off at sometimes one location per city as is the case with other carriers.

Don’t take our word for it. Let’s compare the stats between Canada Post and a few other shipping carrier contenders.

Purolator vs Canada Post

In the 2020 peak season, Purolator delivered about 46 million parcels. As for Canada Post, 20 million were delivered just in the two weeks before Christmas alone, with record-breaking deliveries of over a million per day for much of the rest of the year. Purolator has given Canada Post some definite competition, however, as they’ve also seen record-breaking deliveries over the past year and provide an element of trust that others don’t provide.

Purolator Express and Canada Post Expedited Parcel are actually quite close, however, Canada Post offers a smaller price range and more features such as three attempts at delivery instead of two. In the end, however, Purolator is owned by Canada Post, so you’re getting the same support team either way.

UPS vs Canada Post

UPS, United Postal Service, is an American-owned shipping company that has a comparable plan to Canada Post Priority Shipping, called UPS Express. UPS does offer a great customer support team and similar prices to that of Canada Post, especially if you’re working with multiple commercial shipments.

ups offer

Because UPS doesn’t normally deliver to every residential home or P.O. Box on a daily or even weekly basis, costs for delivery can oftentimes be higher – especially for rural areas. This goes for all other delivery companies, including Purolator and those we compare below. Canada Post will most often attempt to deliver multiple times before requiring a customer to pick up from the closest post office – usually within a few blocks radius. Other companies attempt once and then expect the customer to travel to a pickup location that can sometimes be quite a drive away.

FedEx vs Canada Post

Like UPS, FedEx is American-owned and is often popular with much larger retail online businesses that offer overnight shipping. The cost of these shipping methods outweighs itself because these larger companies have their own FedEx pick-up and shipping methods that make it more useful than using other shipment companies. And their customers expect this promise. One con of Canada Post is that it usually doesn’t deliver on weekends. FedEx and other companies, such as DHL below, can deliver evenings, early mornings, and weekends.

FedEx often excels when shipping internationally and to further destinations as they hold themselves accountable for their speed and are personally affected by any delays (that’s why it doesn’t happen often) which often happens when Canada Post has to go through customs.

DHL, CanPar, and Loomis vs Canada Post

We’ve grouped the three of these companies together because technically they’re the same. Loomis and CanPar are the same company, which was bought out by DHL a few years ago. This is why you will often see DHL trucks delivering Loomis packages. They also use the same package and sorting depots. This can sometimes make tracking a little confusing.

DHL has become quite fast on deliveries but sometimes speed doesn’t mean the best option. Canada Post and even other shipping companies mentioned above have the reliability and trust factor – as well as recognition and ability to integrate – that DHL doesn’t quite have.

DHL has grown exponentially over the past year and even outcries UPS in good reviews. An issue with these companies, however, is that they may not offer pick-up options if you’re not home on delivery. So, if their package isn’t left at their door, your customer will have to call and reschedule another drop-off day.

Having the best shipping company on your side is essential for success as an eCommerce brand, but to be able to handle multiple orders and save time doing it all manually, partnering with a Shipping Automation application, like PluginHive, will ensure you can keep that success as your business grows. Whether you use WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, and PrestaShop, PluginHive has a solution that will work with your business.


Contact PluginHive Support now to find out the best solution for your eCommerce platform.